I'd appreciate hearing/reading some opinions on whether or not you think my
proposed refund offer is fair. Here's the basic facts. Let me state at
the beginning that all correspondence has been friendly or civil-no anger
or threats. Nor has feedback been left by either of us.
6/11/05 Auction for Olympus 35 RC and Vivitar 100 flash ended with winning
bidder in France. Auction was clearly marked AS IS and not subject to my
return policy. Sold AS IS because of disclosed scratches on
lens. Otherwise in excellent working condition.
6/12/05 I sent an invoice to the winner
6/13/05 Received notice of payment from PayPal
6/13/05 Received an e mail from winner telling me payment made and that he
is leaving France at the end of the week and would appreciate my sending
camera asap.
6/13/05 Shipped camera and flash via insured Airmail Parcel Post. Terms of
auction say foreign shipments go either by Air Letter Post without
insurance or Air Parcel Post with insurance. Buyer chose the Parcel Post
option. I e mailed buyer same day notifying that shipment made and that US
Postal Service estimates transit time of 4-10 days.
6/21/05 Received e email from buyer asking for tracking number and telling
me he leaves for Venezuela in three days and wants to be sure he will have
the camera before then. I replied same day and told him tracking numbers
are not issued for this type of shipment. I also noted that the cost for
sending a traceable package is prohibitive for most buyers.
7/24/05 Received the following e mail from buyer:
I am back from Venezuela.....without the camera. It
arrived after my departure. At my return, I went to
the post office and they said the camera was back to
the sender in USA, so to you.
Given that I have found an alternative to be able to
take pictures in Venezuela, I do not need the Olympus
anymore as you can imagine. So I do not want you to
send it again to me, I would prefer you to pay me back
the amount I paid to you in June.
Sorry for this but the shipment has been too long.
Thanks in advance for your understanding and for the
confirmation you agree.
7/24/05 I sent the following reply:
I'm sorry to learn the camera did not arrive before your departure to
Venezuela. As I mentioned in a previous e mail, the U.S. Postal Service
does not guarantee a specific transit time for packages mailed to other
countries. It is unfortunate that I was not made aware of your pending
departure until after you won the auction.
I am puzzled why your Postal Service returned the package. Do you not have
in France a provision to have the postal authorities hold your mail until
your return?
As of today, July 25, the camera has not yet been returned to me. As you
know from the terms of the auction, the camera was sold "AS IS" and not
subject to my normal return policy. However, I will offer you some form of
refund adjustment. But, I would like to receive and inspect the camera
before advising you of my refund offer.
I hope this meets with your approval for the time being. I will notify you
immediately upon my receipt of the camera.
After 7/24 we exchanged a short series of e mails the gist of which was my
telling the buyer that the camera has not yet been received and the buyer
telling me his post office advised him the camera was returned by surface mail.
Today, 8/26/05, the camera finally came home. Everything looks ok-I don't
think the package was ever opened by Customs/Postal folks there or
here. The buyer paid $51.00 plus $22.60 postage/insurance for a total of
$73.60. My eBay and PayPal fees totalled $5.55. I didn't have to pay
return postage.
Given that this was an AS IS sale and the fact that I wasn't made aware
upfront that there was a time limit for the buyer to receive the package,
my inclination is to subtract the fees and postage/insurance from the total
amount the buyer paid and offer him a refund of $45.45.
So what do y'all think? Am I being fair and reasonable? Sorry for the
long winded post.
Gary
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